Dr. Steve’s Tips

Beyonce’s Right: “If you like it, you better put a (wax) ring on it”

While sitting in a Lion’s Choice the other day, daydreaming about leaky faucets, the background music suddenly caught my attention. I couldn’t quite make out the lyrics, but they went something like “if you like it, you better put a wax ring on it”. For a moment, I thought the singer — someone you probably never heard of named “Beyonce” — was speaking only to me, and her words brought back a flush of memories of all the times Fix St Louis had spared our customers further ceiling and furniture damage by changing the wax ring on an upstairs toilet.

So I went online looking for the video, where I watched her dance with 2 OTHER young ladies singing about their eligibility, and ALL of them had tremendous talent. And by “talent” I mean that if this dancing thing doesn’t work out for them, we sure could use their ability to contort their bodies to climb under kitchen sink cabinets to fix drains, slither through crawl spaces, and scamper through attics while stepping only on joists to avoid plunging through the ceiling immediately below. Apparently, the baby in the video below also finds their dexterity remarkable and worth emulating.

Now, not being familiar with Beyonce’s full body of work, I don’t know if her songs cover the full range of causes of ceiling water leaks. So just in case, here are the most likely causes for these leaks that we see at Fix St Louis.

Toilet Wax Rings: As it turns out, the most common cause of leaks from ceilings is, unfortunately, also the most disgusting. So rather than spend any time thinking about what is causing that stain, just call us, and we will take care of that pesky connection between your toilet and the drain pipe beneath it.

Shower & Bath Drains: It’s not uncommon for drain pipe connections beneath showers and tubs to wear out or become misaligned. Sometimes we can fix this from above, but often we need to cut out the ceiling below to pinpoint the problem and replace the plumbing parts. Incidentally, this is the single best reason to hold onto old ceiling paint you’ve used, because after we’ve patched that hole that we needed to cut for access, or primed the stained area, matching new paint to the surrounding ceiling is often nearly impossible, and requires painting the entire contiguous ceiling.

Caulking & Grout: You might think that water is stupid, but actually it’s very smart. It has an uncanny ability to find even the smallest hole to fit through, and the most meandering pathway, in its quest to join you and your family in the room below. So look for holes, cracks, and gaps in that white goop along the ledges & seams of your tub or shower — inside & out. And, don’t forget the base of your toilet. Fix St Louis can plug these up.

These are generally not the types of repairs homeowners can take on themselves. And if you ever had someone in your home try to do caulking, there’s a good chance there’s now a thick, ugly glob of white goop where a narrow white line used to be. So, next time you see a water stain on your ceiling, take Beyonce’s advice — “Say our name, say our name.” When it comes to repairing leaks and restoring drywall, Fix St Louis has all the moves you need.

FIX St. Louis is the professional alternative to hiring "Chuck in a Truck" or "Pete in a Pickup," if you know what we mean! Our technicians have at least 10 years of experience, are bonded and insured, and show up at firm, scheduled times. We provide full customer service and guarantee our work for a year.